


Lapidot Tuesday

by SilverEyedRukia



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Crush, F/F, Gay Space Rocks, Valentine's Day, beach-a-palooza, canonverse, cause lapis is there so duh, it's not what it looks like, no promises though, prompt, slightly canondivergent, this may get a weekly update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-22 02:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6066442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverEyedRukia/pseuds/SilverEyedRukia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My collection of prompts for Lapidot Tuesday (on tumblr). May write more for future prompts!<br/>Each chapter ads onto the last so I advice everyone to start at the first prompt, otherwise the rest may seem confusing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beach-a-Palooza

The rapidly darkening sky held a certain melancholic feel to it as the sun's rays fought their losing battle against the ever stronger growing light of the moon creeping over the horizon. Or at least that's how it looked like to her. She remembered Steven telling her about how the day and night cycles worked, how the sun illuminated the moon during the night even though the sun itself wasn't visible. She had listened to the explanation with half an ear, more entranced by the look of intense interest on the green gem's face who the explanation had been directed at.

Lapis closed her eyes as a soft breeze swept over her, carrying the salty scent of the ocean with it. She could hear faint laughter and conversations wafting over from the stage that had been erected on the beach for the annual Beach-a-Palooza: Steven's cheery voice, Pearl's excited but also lecturing tone, Amethyst's gleeful laughter and Garnet's amused chuckles. She hadn't interacted much with the other humans of Beach City, but she knew most of them, at least by face. Everyone was gathered around the stage, seating themselves on the many folding chairs and eagerly awaiting the main event starring a mini-concert from the Crystal Gems. All the gems except for her.

She briefly wondered about the whereabouts of the person she had grown almost scarily close to before realizing that she was probably going to be part of the concert, too. Lapis pulled her legs up, pressing them close to her chest and resting her chin atop her knees before wrapping her arms around herself in a comforting embrace. She knew that if she would go over to the Crystal Gems they would happily ask her to join or offer her a place in the front row but deep down she didn't get the feeling of belonging whenever she was around them.

_"Don't worry about it, it will take time but soon you will be a Crystal Gem too, just like Peridot."_

Steven's voice echoed through her head, a memory from a few weeks back, and managed to paint a small smile on her face at the mention of the green Homeworld gem. If she had to explain why she had grown to like the smaller gem so much Lapis probably wouldn't have been able to pinpoint one thing exactly. Was it her unique treatment of the ocean gem? Her clumsy attempts at human affection? Her so called experiments where she would present human rituals to Lapis and ask her to be her partner? It was probably all of that, if not more. And that was also the reason why right now, where everyone was having fun and she was sitting on a lone rock off to the coast of the beach, she actually missed the company of Peridot.

Music started playing and the blue alien opened her eyes again, vision blurry with unshed tears as the loneliness started creeping up on her, giving her that dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach similar to how the months of endless torment at the bottom of the ocean had felt like: like everyone had abandoned her. She was free now, unfused, but at times where she was alone like this she felt like everything was back to square one.

"Humans and their strange rituals."

Her footsteps had been soft, drowned out by the concert still going on, and her small frame appeared in Lapis' peripheral vision the moment the Homeworld gem sat down next to her. The space between them was close enough for comfort and apart enough to allow privacy, a sentiment the ocean gem appreciated about Peridot. She turned her head to look at her only to find the technician looking off towards the concert, visor reflecting the many stage lights and thus shielding Peridot's expression from the taller gem. She was both surprised and happy to see her and she knew that the later feeling was much stronger than the first. A moment of silence passed between them before the next few words were spoken.

"Why are you not with them?"

Lapis' voice was soft, almost too quiet to make out, but Peridot still caught it. She finally turned to look the other Homeworlder in the eye, expression turning from neutral to somewhat annoyed. Lapis knew that was just a mask, but it made Peridot feel more secure about the display of her emotions so she let her have that small victory.

"I had no intention to participate in their _"annual Beach-a-Palooza"_ if that is what you are inquiring. I stayed long enough to judge its value and concluded that spending time with you would result in a more…pleasurable experience." Peridot chose her words carefully, eyes now trailing down Lapis' slender arms as she tried to fight down the rising blush in her cheeks. She found it highly amusing that Peridot kept making so called quotation marks with her fingers whenever she used a human-specific term as if to symbolize that she would have used another word to describe it, which she probably would have. The song ended and a round of applause carried over to the pair, causing them to turn their heads and watch Steven and the gems initiate the after show party, which really only consisted of dancing along to random music tracks, but for some reason the humans seemed to love it.

"Odd. Why do they dance if they cannot fuse? Their rhythmical movements serve no ultimate purpose other than to "look nice" as Steven would probably say." It wasn't the best ice breaker and she knew that, but when Peridot turned again to face Lapis her face fell slightly when she noticed the gem staring off into the distance, eyes focused on the endlessly crashing waves of the ocean spread out before them. She was drifting off again and inwardly Peridot was already freaking out, she hated seeing Lapis like this but she also wasn't the best at cheering others up. She grumbled quietly before getting up, a movement that was seen but not registered by the ocean gem, before plopping back down behind her, green arms hesitantly reaching around her lithe body and pressing the blue gem against her spacesuit covered front. That seemed to snap her out of whatever sadness induced daze she had been in, judging by the tiniest of "eeps" escaping her mouth at the contact.

"Peridot! W-what are you doing?"

She felt the tiny arms around her tighten, pulling her ever closer, and felt the green gem's breath tickle her bare back. They had been close before, sure, but usually it was the result of Peridot's many attempts at copying human behavior displayed by both Steven and the other gems like holding hands or lying down together.

"I am sharing contact for mutual benefit", she started, voice quiet as she was still facing Lapis' back, "I have observed the positive effect of this ritual called hugging numerous times between humans and even gems so I thought that maybe it would help. You look small."

The current song playing in the distance started to fade before a new one came on, a somewhat quieter and slower piece that seemed to fit the current mood perfectly. Lapis' body shook in Peridot's embrace and for an agonizingly long moment she thought Lapis was going to cry but then a soft giggle bubbled up from deep within her, turning into full-fledged laughter seconds later that left the green gem utterly confused as to what was going on right now.

"Did I do _the hugging_ wrong?"

The ocean gem turned around in the embrace after Peridot loosened her grip a little upon noticing her movement, now sitting face to face with the smaller of the two, her own slender legs draped over Peridot's shorter ones. Her eyes shone with tears, happy ones this time, and her face was displaying a beautiful, honest smile that made Peridot's stomach flip in a way she had never experienced before.

"No, you did everything right." Lapis took both of the smaller hands into her own ones, relishing the effect she had on the other gem with the simple motion. "Thanks for checking up on me, I appreciate it."

"Don't think I came for you, your company is simply more enjoyable, you physically appealing clod!"

Lapis paused to stare at the green gem, looked at how her face turned sideways to avoid looking at her, cheeks blushing in both embarrassment and a dash of anger at being called out on her feelings. The ocean gem should know better than to keep prodding her about it but she suddenly felt adventurous, exhilarated even, to exploit the nature of Peridot's sudden outburst of affection.

" _Physically appealing_? I may be wrong but I think you just called me attractive."

Peridot sputtered out an incomprehensive reply and started struggling against Lapis' grip, slipping away from the ocean gem and her barely contained laughter before realizing that they were both sitting atop a rather medium sized rock. She tried regaining her balance but ultimately lost the fight against gravity and fell back first off the rock, landing on the sandy beach bellow with an audible "oof". It was only a height difference of maybe three or four feet from the top of the rock down to the beach but Lapis still leapt after Peridot worriedly, letting out a sigh of relief when she found the gem rubbing her head, still lying in the sand.

"Gemforsaken hunk of rock", the smaller one grumbled before her attention focused on the outstretched hand in front of her. She reluctantly grabbed it and felt herself being pulled up with just a tad too much force which resulted in her chest bumping against Lapis' abdomen, a painful reminder that she felt absolutely tiny without her limb enhancers.

"Wow, thanks", she mumbled before looking up at the blue-haired water witch, "can you release my touch stumps from your fierce grip now?"

Instead of complying Lapis pulled Peridot closer, placed her free hand on her shoulder and slowly walked backwards, pulling the technician with her who in turn clumsily grabbed the taller one's waist as to not stumble and fall down again.

"Lazuli, what are you doing? Are you attempting _fusion?!_ "

Her blue locks swayed from left to right as she shook her head before looking over to the still on-going Beach-a-Palooza a bit off in the distance: the songs were still audible even from their current position. She smiled when her gaze returned to Peridot's visor covered eyes and widened slightly when she saw that despite her complaints the gem was seemingly enjoying herself.

"Just shut up and dance, okay?"

Peridot, surprisingly enough, complied wordlessly and just followed Lapis' guiding movements, thankful for the small steps she was making to compensate the technician's short frame. They danced together for quite some time, steps wobbly on the unstable sandy terrain while the moon remained the only source of lighting the pair had. The song Lapis had been guiding them to faded into silence and they stopped, hands still clasped together and resting on the other's respective body part. Peridot was the first to break the silence with a small cough before she removed her hands and wrung them nervously in front of her when she realized what exactly they had been doing.

"Even though I do not appreciate the continued "making fun of my feelings" on your part I must admit that this experience was very…enlightening. I require more information on the subject of fusionless dancing so be ready to supply said information upon my request." Peridot avoided the blue gem's gaze when she knelt down, now a tad shorter than the green alien herself, and only returned said gaze when she felt two hands softly guide her face back to looking at Lapis. The ocean gem gave her a short kiss on the cheek and even though Peridot was still highly embarrassed and possibly way too attracted to the sea witch for her own good, seeing her smile such an honest smile at her made all the trouble she had gone through worth it.

"Thank you, Peridot."


	2. Valentine's Day

Peridot was used to not understanding all the different customs and weird rituals humans seemed to participate in, like the celebration of one's birth or the celebration of the end of earth's rotation around the sun. Now that she thought about it, humans were celebrating a lot of things. This new human custom was no exception to that rule either. Her visor covered eyes roamed through the room, tape recorder all but forgotten on the table before her due to the constant interruptions, and for a moment she wondered how long it had taken the Crystal Gems to get used to all this.

Garnet was busy drawing and cutting out something at the kitchen counter with the help of Steven who was his usual energetic self, both surrounded by a ridiculous amount of crayons, some sort of glittery substance and papers in various shades of red. The colour scheme for this particular festivity seemed to be of the utmost importance because all the colours Peridot could see were either red, pink or purple or a combination of all of them.

Quiet humming reached the green gems' ears and she shifted her attention to the entrance were she found Pearl decorating a portrait of Rose Quartz. They never really talked about the leader of the rebellion around her and from what she had gathered from Jasper she had been the key figure in its success but now that she was gone…Peridot sighed in frustration. She knew that Steven's mother, as he had called her, had been important to everyone and she had, albeit with no bad intentions in mind at the time, insulted her legacy, one of the actions she was painfully reminded of whenever Rose's name was accidentally dropped in a conversation around her.

She was torn out of her musings when she felt a hand smack her shoulder and she turned her head to see Amethyst grinning at her, mouth covered in some sort of thick, brown substance.

"Yo nerd what are you spacing out for? If you are regretting giving me your chocolate it's too late, I already ate it."

The alien raised an eyebrow. "If you are referring to the contents of the overly decorated box Steven gave me earlier than no, I had no intention of consuming your " _chocolate_ ". I was merely…thinking."

The small quartz was about to reply when Pearl's voice carried over to the pair, successfully catching both their attention.

"Amethyst, stop bothering Peridot and please go clean up your face. You have chocolate smothered all over it", the tallest of the three said as she approached them, face showing a certain annoyance at Amethyst's messy exterior before she directed her gaze at Peridot, now a faint smile playing around her lips.

"How does it look?"

The green gem followed her gaze to the with roses decorated portrait of Rose, only knowing what the flowers were after having received a short explanation about earth's flora from Pearl a few days prior.

"It looks adequate. The choice of botanic seems fitting despite a certain sense of irony."

"You can just say it looks great you know?"

"Amethyst!"

And with that both the quartz and Pearl disappeared further into the house, noise of their bickering growing quiet as they left Peridot to her thoughts again. Someone was missing, a fact that up until now had been ignored rather than forgotten, but now that all the gems and even Steven were busy making preparations she felt somewhat…alone. Blue eyes appeared in front of her inner eye, toothless smile directed at her as the owner's fingers wrapped around her own, pulling her into a slow, rhythmic dance.

The memory from the Beach-a-Palooza a few weeks back left her feeling both happy and empty at the same time and the urge to hold Lazuli close was growing so strong that she grabbed a pillow in desperation, pressing it close against her chest in a poor attempt to comfort herself. Lapis hadn't been there when she had woken up that morning and Peridot had felt abandoned by the gem that meant so much to her. When she had gotten up in search of the older one she had stumbled upon Steven already being awake and working on something she couldn't make sense of.

_"What is all this?"_

_Steven raised his head to look at the person who had asked the question, coming face to face with Peridot who was eyeing the mess on the kitchen counter with a mixture of curiosity and weariness._

_"Today is Valentine's Day! I am making cards for everyone." The boy grinned and hopped off his chair before he pulled out a fancy looking box out of the fridge. Steven held it out for Peridot to take, who accepted it with a raised eyebrow, before he returned to working on his cards. "They are chocolates, you give them to the person you like. I have one box for all the gems and Connie, now I only have to finish the cards to go with them. I will give you yours later."_

_The technician looked at the object in her hand before she muttered a short "Wow, thanks" and climbed one of the stools, curious eyes never leaving the many different cards scattered all over the counter._

_"What is the occasion for this? Are we celebrating someone's birth again?"_

_Steven hummed as he started cutting out various paper hearts in different sizes and colours. "No, Valentine's Day is a little bit different than a birthday. You can give gifts to your friends and family but it's the one day in the year where you can ask someone to be your Valentine." He gave Peridot a knowing smile, her relationship with the ocean gem not having escaped his attention, before he continued his explanation._

_"Your Valentine should be the person you can't stop thinking about. When they are happy you smile, when they are sad you cry. You want nothing bad to happen to them, ever. And they should give you this tingly feeling in your stomach that spreads through your body whenever they hold your hand."_

Amethyst had interrupted the pair shortly after and Peridot had given her the chocolates to distract her from eating the cards while she had been busy with trying to wrap her head around the concept of "Valentine".

She pulled her legs up, pressing the cushion even closer against her chest, and let her thoughts wander. Was Lapis her Valentine? She hadn't asked her yet, she had in fact not seen the ocean gem all day, but she couldn't deny the impact the blue-haired Homeworlder had on her. Whenever she was close Peridot found it difficult to concentrate, tape recorder and inventions all but forgotten when she heard her voice or her melodious laughter. Her touch was something Peridot longed for and it was infuriating, irrational even, because her presence had started to become more important than all the other things Peridot had enjoyed like watching Camp Pining Hearts or studying old gem tech. And whenever she felt her close, fingers entwined or bodies pressed together in a hug, Peridot felt complete. As if the ocean gem was filling a void in her life she never knew she even possessed.

"You are the only one I know that's able to look both sad and adorable at the same time."

Peridot's head whipped around when she heard the voice she had craved to hear all day and she found the much older gem standing next to her, bare feet creating no noise that could have alerted her to Lapis' presence. Her mouth opened to form a reply but instead of saying anything she wordlessly closed it again, gaze returning to staring straight ahead. She didn't know why she was being so ridiculously irrational but she felt upset and talking to Lapis felt like too much to handle for the small gem right now.

The gem in question let out an almost inaudible sigh before she sat down next to Peridot, fingers fiddling with something she held in her hands.

"Steven told you which human custom is celebrated today?"

"Affirmative."

Lapis knew that Peridot had a temper that often got the better of her despite her rather rational and analytical behaviour but it rarely got so bad that she wouldn't even look at her. The taller of the two edged a little closer before silence settled over them. One of them would break sooner or later since neither had a lot of patience, it was just a matter of time. A minute passed, then another. Peridot grew increasingly more uncomfortable with the situation and was about to crack when she felt something soft connect with her head. Confused she stared at Lapis, who in turn just smiled down at her, before she looked at the pillow that had hit her head just now. It had a heart woven into the front and now that she got a closer look it looked like it was...selfmade?

"Pearl taught me how to do it, it took me all morning to finish though." The smile on her face slowly started to fade until it disappeared entirely, now serious expression directed at the gem she had spent all morning getting a gift for.

"Will you be my Valentine, Peridot?"

The words started sinking in slowly as her gaze was still fixed on Lapis' face that now carried the colour of a blush rising in her cheeks at the intense look.

"Excuse me?"

The ocean gem looked utterly _flustered_ , a sight Peridot would have enjoyed if it hadn't been for the fact that her question had thrown her off so much that she even forgot to be upset any longer.

"Don't make me say it again", Lapis muttered as she started picking at a lose strand of yarn sticking out of the selfmade stichting before she took a deep breath and now fully turned to face the smaller gem, taking her hands into her own which made the pillow nestled between Peridot's feet fall onto the floor.

"I caught Steven last night, he was so excited he couldn't sleep so we spent hours just talking and he explained this holiday to me in great detail while you were still out." Blue sapphires stared into visor covered emeralds for a long moment before Lapis continued, voice soft but determined.

"Ever since I got freed from the mirror my life has been miserable. My gem had been cracked, when I returned home I was treated as just another prisoner and then, when I got stuck on earth in a forced fusion, I gave up hope completely", she started and placed her selfmade pillow between them on the couch before grabbing both of Peridot's hands, reveling in the comfort the simple touch gave her as she continued, "and then I met you. Well, technically I already met you before but I really got to _know_ you. You made an effort to understand me that no one besides Steven did and you somehow always manage to make me feel less horrible about myself and everything that happened and-"

Lapis' extented monologue ended when she felt the green gems mouth covering her own in a somewhat clumsy kiss, most likely the result of Peridot's still lacking knowledge of human gestures and their meanings, but it did what it had been intended for. It successfully shut her up. The alien blushed a deep blue-ish hue as she realized what she had done before she composed herself, entwined fingers twitching against those of Lapis.

"While I appreciate your honesty and your concern I would not have been able to listen to another word you would have said without losing track of their content. The way your lips move is both captivating and highly distracting." It was a compliment, Lapis knew that, and it took her every bit of willpower she possessed to not burst out laughing at the utter look of emberrassment that was written all over Peridot's face. She hated being called _cute_ after all.

The smaller gem grumbled something into her nonexisting beard before she pulled Lapis closer, effectively positioning the water witch on her lap with the pillow resting in between them, bright red heart facing their front.

"I agree to your terms under one condition, Lazuli."

Blue locks swayed slightly as Lapis cocked her head, tips tickling Peridot's still blushing cheek as she took a calming breath that did little to hide her obvious nervousness.

"And what condition are we talking about?"

She already knew the answer when she felt Peridot's visor brush against her shoulder as the gem burried her face against it, finally voicing the answer out loud as a mumble into the strap of Lapis' dress.

"I will be your Valentine if you will be mine, I don't want to share you with Steven."

The ocean gem giggled and placed a soft kiss on Peridot's into her forehead embedded stone.

"I think I can live with that."


	3. It's not what it looks like!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a bit bleh about this chapter.  
> I still hope all of you enjoy it. Thanks for reading :)

She had done this before.

The sometimes slow, sometimes fast pacing of a rhythmic dance, the way feet and hands worked in perfect sync as if their very souls were resonating within their owners' bodies. She knew the feeling, with both good and bad intentions, but this was different.

This was... _fun_.

"Lapis, you are really good at this!"

The ocean gem gave the human boy a small smile as she followed his somewhat clumsy lead, fingers entwined and bodies separated by just an arm's length. Steven had insisted on showing her how fusion dances should be, the happy and completely comfortable feeling of consent before fusing that she hadn't experiences in several thousand years. Lapis knew it was a barely hidden attempt to make her open up more, to get rid of the traumatic fusion experience that had been Malachite and help her cope with the Crystal Gems' rather easygoing attitude about the act itself. It was no secret that Garnet, the permafusion as Peridot still sometimes addressed her as, was the best example for a perfect relationship, much like Malachite was the example for a horrible relationship. But she had seen Opal before too and had been honestly surprised at just how well Pearl and Amethyst worked together as a fusion despite their highly different personalities.

Steven indicated a swirl and Lapis complied, her superior height giving her a slight advantage for the dance, before he suddenly edged her against the wall, hands leaving hers as he pressed them against the wall both her gem and back were now facing. Lapis' confusion melted when she saw his starry-eyed grin beaming up at her, the happiness about his successful dance almost tangible in the air.

"That's what Garnet and Pearl showed me, or well, at least part of it." He paused his speech while removing his arms from the wall before he walked the short distance to the couch, plopping down on it and beckoning for the gem to follow suit. "All of them have a different style, you know?"

Blue locks bobbed up and down as Lapis nodded and sat down next to him. Unsure about what to do with her fingers she awkwardly rested them in her lap, fingertips barely brushing against each other.

"The fusion dance is an expression of one's self. Or it at least should be."

"Yeah!" His enthusiasm effectively chased away Lapis' already creeping thoughts about her last fusion experience and she smiled at him again, an expression that felt almost foreign after being imprisoned for as long as she had been.

He was about to add something to his exclamation when the pair heard the front door opening and the four remaining gems entered the house, some of them carrying a few items in their hands. A certain blonde shock of hair caught Lapis' attention immediately and when she looked over to the technician she was met with a stare from those visor-covered eyes that sent a shiver down her spine with its intensity. Memories of last "Valentine's Day" were still fresh in both their minds and while it had been a pleasant experience it had left them both asking even more questions than before.

What exactly _were_ they?

"Yo Steven, Garnet told us about our next mission so you better get your butt into bed cause we're heading out as soon as the sun comes up tomorrow."

The fusion nodded in confirmation before dropping whatever she had been carrying in her hands on the kitchen counter, expression as close to being unreadable as it usually was due to her shades covering most of her face. The change of atmosphere was evident as Garnet and Lapis exchanged glances, almost as if the temperature inside the room had dropped significantly, before the former retreated into her room without another word. Their relationship remained somewhat strained, behaviour from when Steven had freed her from the mirror still fresh in Lapis' mind. Garnet had been against freeing her and even now the two kept a certain distance from each other without displaying any actual hostility, for Steven's sake.

Pearl and Amethyst exchanged a glance before the later also retreated into her room after grabbing some junk from the fridge. The taller gem ushered the dark-haired boy into getting ready for bed before she also disappeared behind the magically sealed door, leaving only Lapis, Peridot and Steven who was currently in the bathroom inside the house.

Blue eyes travelled over to the small frame of the other Homeworld gem, seeking their visor-covered counterparts but failing to do so when all Peridot did to acknowledge her presence was a barely audible "Greetings, Lazuli" before the technician sat down at the kitchen counter and started fumbling around with whatever Garnet had dropped down on it.

Why was she doing this again?

Oh yeah. Because she actually needed to finish fixing the wiring for her tape recorder that accidentally broke earlier that day and she knew that if Lazuli started interacting with her her concentration would waver if not disappear completely. She could almost feel those blue orbs staring into the back of her head with that quizzical look plastered all over her physically appealing face.

_Physically appealing._

Peridot groaned and mumbled some curses under her breath before her entire body went absolutely rigid as she felt arms that were not her own wrap themselves around her midsection from behind, tape recorder cracked open and ready for repairs all but forgotten in front of her.

"Are you avoiding me?"

The smaller of the two took a calming breath before picking up her work, trying to ignore the tingly sensation spreading over her back as Lapis pressed herself against it to be able to look over her shoulder.

"Negative. I am simply maintaining a certain distance that will allow me to actually get any work done," Peridot started before she sighed, focus turning to Lapis as she continued, "since your presence is highly distracting."

For anyone else it might have sounded offensive or even downright rude but Lapis knew better. It was Peridot's way of saying "I appreciate your attention and concern but I really need to finish this" without actually saying it. It might even have been a disguised compliment for all she knew and it brought a smile to her face, toothless and faint, before she removed her arms after placing a gentle kiss on the green gem's exposed part of her shoulder. The shiver she received was reward enough and the water witch returned to her seat on the couch, waving Steven good night as he exited the bathroom, before she opted on turning on the primitive image cube as Peridot had called it. The hybrid had suggested that they put the TV in the living room so either Lapis or Peridot, who both had no real room for themselves yet, could watch it without distracting or waking Steven in his room.

A Camp Pining Hearts commercial came on that reminded Lapis of the marathon Peridot had put her through that had been both exhausting and highly amusing. Seeing the Homeworlder so excited about something that wasn't related to Kindergartens or gem tech was rare and it had made both of them happy, even if Lapis had barely paid attention to the show, instead focusing more on the green gem that had been seated on her lap the entire time.

She wasn't particularly interested in human television but it gave her something to focus on and she preferred it over being left alone with her thoughts. It was distracting and she found it funny that she did the one thing Peridot was trying so hard to avoid: being distracted, albeit for different reasons.

Silence settled over the house the moment Steven turned off the lights, exception being the annoyed grumbles from the technician every now and then. Something about "primitive earth technology" and "archaic gems and their ancient tools". Lapis was torn between being amused and offended at the ancient gems comment seeing that she herself was well over 5000 years old but she decided not to, instead falling back into her quiet thinking pattern while her eyes stayed glued to the screen.

 _How old was_ Peridot?

It was a question that had started manifesting shortly after she had first met the gem and was more or less on top of the list of things she was confused about concerning the small Homeworlder. She had known nothing about the existence of the Crystal Gems or hadn't possessed much knowledge about the rebellion and Rose Quartz prior to befriending said gems and learning about what had really transpired.

Lapis hummed. She really needed to have a talk with Peridot one of these days. Her silent musings were interrupted when something on the TV caught her attention, successfully pushing her previous thoughts into the back of her head and making another question from earlier resurface: what exactly were they doing? She knew that Peridot made her...well, what exactly? Happy? She was still getting used to actually experiencing all those emotions again for herself, not trapped inside a lifeless object stored in another gem's pocket dimension.

Her eyes followed the scene displayed on the screen with rapt attention, eyes occasionally drifting over to Peridot before settling back on the TV. She was still working on her recorder, gem light painting the kitchen a dim greenish hue as to not wake Steven and attention focused entirely on the task at hand.

Steven had explained so much to her. The different meanings of kisses, the feel of a loved one's touch and the warmth of their hug. Rituals that at first sight seemed so foreign but caused her to feel a great comfort deep inside whenever she experienced them with Peridot. It was strange considering their relationship pre-Malachite hadn't been the best but their shared origins and involuntary stranding on earth had created a bond the two grew stronger from each passing day. That was why right now, as her eyes observed the entangling of limbs and the bodies of two lovers coming together in a passionate embrace, she decided that she would find out what the green gem meant to her, whatever may come of it in the long run.

It wasn't until the first rays of the sun started seeping through the not entirely closed blinds that Peridot finished fixing her recorder, task taking much more time than initially anticipated due to the presence of the ocean gem lingering in the back of her head. She rose from her position and turned to see Lapis looking intently at the TV, something she rarely ever did save for the few times they watched Camp Pining Hearts together. Peridot hesitated for a moment, weighing her options before her curiosity ultimately won the fight and she walked over to the older gem, surprised when she found only the credits of whatever show or movie had been running scrolling over the dimly lit screen.

"Surprising to see you so interested in one of humanity's favourite void fillers, Lazuli."

It was as if the mere sound of her voice made the ocean gem snap out of her stupor, sapphire orbs darting over to Peridot's semi-amused expression as she tried her best to recall what exactly the technician had just said.

"It was a...very enlightening movie. Plus you were the one too busy with your recorder to spent time with me", she smirked as her opposite blushed a light blue-ish hue before she turned off the device, attention now fully focused on the green gem. "How did it break?"

Peridot let out a quiet "hmpf" before she opted on sitting down next to Lapis. She unconsciously eyed her slender fingers and wondered if she would be okay with Peridot holding them before she banished the thought from her head. Lapis had asked her something and she needed to answer. ' _Stay focused_.'

"I accidentally miscalculated the durability of that ancient device and ended up breaking it by stepping on it. The previous circumstances were...of no further importance", she finished and did her best to hide the still somewhat visible blush behind a scratch of her cheeks, a nervous habit she often executed without really realizing it. In truth she had managed to break the darn thing by throwing it at Amethyst after said gem had pulled a prank on her back at the barn but Lapis didn't need to know everything. In truth Peridot was just too embarrassed to admit that she had broken her most valuable possession due to one of her temper tantrums in fear of the older one making fun of her for it.

The ocean gem hummed in acknowledgement before she suddenly turned slightly, repositioning herself on the couch so that her front was facing Peridot before she gently took one of the other's free hands, eyes locked on those of her opposite in search for any sign of rejection. She found confusion and a hint of intellect and curiosity that was ever present due to Peridot's logic-operated mind but there was no trace of any form of denial so she went ahead with that she had in mind, visual from what she had seen still vivid inside her head.

Fingers interlaced with each other, one blue hand taking hold of its green counterpart, before the owner of the first stood from her seated position and pulled the smaller gem with her in one fluid motion. If this had been anyone else Peridot would have started feeling the nervousness starting to gnaw at her very thread of patience, would have distanced herself from the situation by expressing her dislike for it rather verbally. But this wasn't just anyone. This was Lapis Lazuli, the one gem that ever since her unplanned crash-landing on earth had been the only one to make her feel completely safe and secure. She trusted Steven, she felt comfortable around him but the sensations she got from this gorgeous specimen of a gem were on an entirely different level.

' _Wait_ , gorgeous?'

Lapis took a few steps backwards, pulling Peridot along and out of her musings and more towards the center of the living room. The entire scene reminded her a lot of how they had danced a few months prior at the Beach-a-Palooza, a fusionless dance as Lapis had called it, and her body immediately started feeling tingly all over as if the tiniest of electrical shocks were being sent through her very being. It was then, when they both just stood in front of each other silently for a moment, that Peridot suddenly became very aware of their differences.

Lapis wasn't tall by any means, in fact she was a little shorter than Peridot with her limb enhancers, but right now she didn't have those. She was small without them, face barely reaching Lapis' midsection, and suddenly she wondered what exactly the older gem saw in her.

As if she had heard Peridot's silent worries Lapis suddenly initiated a slow dance, a rhythmic waltz she executed with a tactful beat playing inside her head that she started humming out loud after taking her first step, a small one to ensure Peridot's sense of comfort.

Much like both her and Steven had danced just hours prior Lapis now mirrored their movements, bare and socked feet almost inaudible on the wooden floor. Peridot kept her gaze low and focused on their legs in fear of messing up or stepping on anything before she felt two fingers taking hold of her chin gently, raising her head to look at Lapis who was giving her the most empathetic smile she could muster.

"Just trust me."

And she did. Peridot couldn't speak, throat tied shut by an emotion so intense she couldn't name it, and she tried her best to follow the other's lead, knowing full well that Lapis was someone who operated on feelings rather than logic. Maybe that was what intrigued her about the older gem, experiencing all those emotions she never knew before.

It wasn't until Lapis suddenly pulled her fully against the front of her own body that the smaller gem found her voice again, surprised yelp ringing loudly in the otherwise still quiet house. One hand travelled down from where it had rested on Peridot's shoulder over her side before it came to rest on the small of her back, other hand pulling at the technician's arm that caused her to have to stand on her toes. The somewhat awkward position would have looked comical to any onlooker but right now, in the presence of just those two, it felt _right_.

The now much shorter distance between their bodies was quickly closed as Lapis pressed a soft kiss to the corner of the other's mouth, a taste of things to come, before she took a moment to look Peridot in the eye, mindful of the fact that her opposite was very sensitive to physical proximity.

"Are you alright?"

Lapis received a short nod, green gem not trusting her voice at this point, and made a slight adjustment to their position. She urged Peridot to hold on to her properly before she returned her attention back to her face. She wasn't entirely sure why humans were so fixated on mouths and lips but every romantic interaction the blue gem had observed between "people who like each other a lot" as Steven had explained it to her had started with one simple act. And that was what she was doing just now.

She used her now free hand to rest on Peridot's cheek as she gently brought their lips together, chest exploding with warmth the moment she felt the other's lips responding and moving in unison with her own. It spurred her on and she was determined to finally find out where exactly the two of them were standing, figuratively.

To say Peridot was overwhelmed would have been the understatement of the millennia. She wasn't entirely sure what had caused the sudden change in behaviour from the usually more reserved gem but she couldn't deny the fact that she enjoyed it. Enjoyed the way her lips seemed to fit perfectly against her own, how they moved so rhythmically that the very motion lulled her into a trance. She didn't fully notice the small noises she made that Lapis eagerly embraced, every little sound sending a new shiver down her gem-covered back and only when she felt the hand on her back moving lower did she snap out of her stupor, unfamiliar territory scaring the smaller gem into a small panic.

"Wait wait- whoa!", she interrupted herself with a surprised yelp as they both suddenly tumbled backwards at Peridot's frantic thrashing. Lapis realized the other's discomfort too late to stop but she at least had enough time to switch their positions, small technician on top of the ocean gem as they fell unto the wooden floor below. A moment of utter silence passed before the temple door opened and Pearl came rushing out of her room, weapon at the ready.

"I heard yelling, is everything al...right", she trailed off at the sight before her, spear de-materializing as she stared at the heap of gems lying in front of her.

The fall had successfully positioned Peridot on top of Lapis; the latter's hands resting on the technician's hips in an earlier effort to keep her from hurting herself. She could feel both of Peridot's hands applying a certain pressure to her chest in an attempt to keep her upright, her short legs pinning Lapis' dress against the floor with one of them resting between the ocean gem's legs while the other was positioned just a little off to the side. The sight looked like it had been ripped straight from a "I accidentally fell on top of you" scene from a cheesy romance flick and it brought a burning blush to Peridot's cheeks that was mirrored in strength and intensity by Lapis' own one.

Pearl just continued staring.

"Oh my..."

"It's not what it looks like!"


	4. Crush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please ignore any mistakes. Or point them out and correct me, whatever you prefer.  
>  _Dedicated to punproductive on tumblr_

"Catch!"

The grains beneath his sandals crunched as Steven hurried over their makeshift volleyball field, heel digging into the warmed up sand in an almost heroic looking attempt to pass the ball to his partner, only for him to miss the sphere by only a few inches. The ball bounced off the beach once before firmly getting planted into a now volleyball shaped indentation before a pair of dark hands picked it off the ground. Connie smiled and tucked the ball under one of her arms before extending the other to her friend, picking him off the ground before falling into a fit of giggles along with him.

"Nice try Steven, but maybe next time don't try to get stuck inside the sand."

The boy in question gave a toothy grin before dusting some of the grains out of his black locks, attention moving to the other duo standing on the opposite field. Or well, the one person and her entirely made out of water partner.

"You're getting real good at this Lapis! Even your clone is giving me a run for my money."

The ocean gem gave him a small but utterly sincere smile as the two kids played a short game of limbo to get past the net before they positioned themselves in front of her, Steven still smiling brightly while his slightly shorter friend was staring at the water clone in what Lapis assumed to be sheer amazement. Maybe a bit of healthy caution, too.

"So this clone is made entirely out of water? And you can control it?" The rims of her glasses reflected the light of the sun like a kaleidoscope for a split second as her attention wandered from the water-Lapis to the actual one, rays of rainbow-colored light breaking through the clone's watery surface. She received an affirmative nod that only further widened her already in wonder enlarged eyes, voice barely above a whisper as she touched the seemingly solidified liquid. "That's so cool."

"Yeah, she can make clones of other people, too! But you've already seen that before...", he trailed off as he remembered the last incident where Connie had seen a display of Lapis' true power, images of them both nearly drowning leaving a bad taste in his mouth and effectively killing the easy-going atmosphere that had been dominating the conversation so far. The clone dissipated wordlessly, leaving only an almost completely spherical wet patch in the sand.

"I'm...sorry."

Connie was about to console the suddenly very sullen looking gem when a bright flash and a noise she remembered to be that of a warp pad activating successfully distracted both the gem and Steven and she let out a relieved breath she didn't know she had been holding. ' _Crisis averted_.'

"The gems are back", Steven almost screamed in his excitement and he grabbed Connie's hand, pulling the girl along with him up the stairs and into the house. Lapis looked at the slowly vaporizing stain on the beach before she followed the two, face unreadable. She realized that she had some atoning to do but being so harshly reminded of her wrong-doings still hurt.

The screen-door fell shut behind her with a small click but no one seemed to notice as all the Crystal Gems were busy filling the two kids in on what had happened on their mission, the two humans hanging onto every word that left Amethyst's full lips like a bee to a honeycomb. Lapis vaguely recalled the purpose of the mission, something about broken warp pads, but she hadn't been interested enough to give Pearl's lengthy explanation too much attention. Her eyes travelled over Garnet's square shock of hair and Pearl's already annoyed expression in search for her favourite shade of green. And the moment she connected her ocean-colored orbs with the visor-covered ones of the technician she felt that familiar throbbing in her chest, as if something was trying to leap out of it with a detour through her now clogged up throat. She felt her hands grow warm and clamy with what she had learned to be sweat and only started getting more confused about the entire palette of weird feelings she had started experiencing ever since the Homeworlder had started interacting with her.

Peridot broke the stare that felt like it lasted for all eternity but had in truth just taken a few seconds before excusing herself and brushing past Lapis without sparing her another glance, almost unnoticeable blush coloring her cheeks a fading shade of blue. The slamming of the door was now, unlike earlier, almost deafeningly loud in the sudden silence that loomed like a blanket over the room and the ocean gem felt all 11 eyes remaining in the room aside from her own staring at her like she was suddenly the most interesting thing they had ever seen. It took a few seconds and an awkward cough from Pearl before everyone seemed to snap out of whatever daze they had been in.

"Well, how about we get started on your training Connie? It's certainly been a while."

The dark-skinned girl gave Lapis a sympathetic glance before she nodded vigorously. "Yes ma'am!"

"Steven, how about you and Lapis prepare her something for when she's done? I'm sure you two have something to talk about to kill the time."

Amethyst openly cringed at the not even remotely hidden message the tall gem was leaking through and when said gem and Connie disappeared in a bright flash emitting from the pad she just face-palmed.

"Way to make things awkward, P", she mumbled before she caught Garnet staring at her, shade-covered eyes almost digging into her own. "Uh...I'll be in my room eating garbage."

The magically sealed door opened and closed in quick succession as both Garnet and Amethyst left the now remaining gems alone inside the house, atmosphere still thick and heavy with something Steven couldn't quite put his finger on. So instead of brooding he only grabbed Lapis by the hand and started explaining to her how to make healthy smoothies. He noticed how her somewhat shaky fingers nearly slipped off the cutting board and when she wordlessly handed him the now cut up strawberries the boy finally decided to address the elephant in the room.

"Are you and Peridot...doing okay? Things feel really tense around you two lately."

He watched as Lapis put the knife down before she turned to him, a gesture of safety he appreciated, hands now balled into tight fists without anything to hold between them.

"I don't understand what I did wrong, Steven." Her voice was thick and coated with an emotion she couldn't name, throat still feeling as if someone was squeezing it shut with all their might. "Ever since Pearl walked in on us a few days ago Peridot has been all but avoiding me. All my attempts to confront her about it have been denied and now she won't even look at me for more than a moment before running off." Hot tears were leaving a prickling sensation at the back of her eyes but she blinked them away, refusing to display such an utter lack of emotional control in front of her only friend. "What is this sensation…it hurts."

Steven watched as Lapis put one of her clenched fists up to her chest, the sheer frustration about the situation clearly visible on her face. He recalled what Pearl had told him, how she had caught them doing...something in the living room at night. But he wasn't as naive as to think that they had just been practicing a fusion dance like they had told everyone. No, the way the two looked at each other, even if it was for just the briefest of moments, told him that they had been doing something similarly intimate but yet entirely different that night.

"Maybe you have a crush on Peridot", he said quietly as he took Lapis' free hand into his own, gingerly spreading her fingers out of their balled position and looking up at his beach summer fun buddy to see if she was alright with him touching her like that. She didn't flinch back and Steven took that as his cue to continue.

"You see, when two people really like each other, sometimes they do really stupid things because they care so much. Ruby and Sapphire sometimes fight and they've loved each other for thousands of years. Pearl and Amethyst are so different but deep down they care so much about each other that they make the perfect team. Even me and Connie." He interrupted himself shortly before placing Lapis' now open hand, palm facing his front, unto his chest, just above his heart.

"We can be rash and thoughtless sometimes because we worry and care so much about our loved ones that our heart outweighs our head. Can you feel it?"

Lapis' blue eyes stared intently at the hand firmly pressed against the human's chest and surely, not a moment later she felt the soft, repetitive beating of the heart he had just talked about. It reminded her of that throbbing sensation she had felt when she had first seen Peridot that day and her mouth opened slightly in silent amazement. Steven, happy with her reaction, removed her hand before letting go of it.

"I am sure that whatever Peridot's reasons are, she does it because she cares about you and she just doesn't really know how to tell you." He gave Lapis his usual toothy grin before ushering the taller gem out the door, giving her an encouraging shove out onto the porch before waving enthusiastically. "Now go talk to her! She may be terrible with her feelings but she's great at understanding stuff."

[/]

If Lapis had known what irony was she probably would have thought that the weather was being pretty ironic.

Thick, heavy clouds had accumulated while she and Steven had been talking inside the house and thick drops were already starting to rain down from the sky, dripping off her skin and clinging to her hair like they felt drawn to her. Funny considering she was indeed a water-based gem with the power of hydrokinesis but as of now she only felt like the weather was reflecting her mood. Her hand moved through the air to form a makeshift water roof to shield her from the rain but after stopping dead in her tracks she just let the arm fall back to her side, now pouring rain drenching her from head to toe. She could just remove it at will anyways; why not enjoy the feeling of millions of little droplets caressing her body. Her mind immediately jumped to Peridot and how her kisses had felt upon her lips and her mouth pressed into a thin line. She would find out what the green gem was so upset about, even if it meant losing whatever they had built up until now.

The path up to the old wooden barn was already turning into a mudslide that Steven would have loved to play in. Memories of his encouraging grin and his thumping chest filled her with even more determination as she slowly pulled the heavy doors of the barn open, hinges creaking unhappily from the moisture and lack of proper attention given to them. If Peridot was inside the sound would have most likely alerted her to Lapis' presence but as of now everything was quiet. Nearly.

The ocean gem heard faint voices muttering something so faintly that she couldn't make it out, eyes wandering from one end to the other to locate the source of the echoing chatter. An easy to miss glow reflected off of one of the metallic parts used for fixing the wooden frame and she recalled the upper section to be the place where Peridot had a couch and a TV just to herself. She closed the door to block out the thundering rain outside and the squeaking hinges nearly hurt her teeth with their high-pitched volume. Shaking her head to rid herself of that awful sensation and the growing nervousness in the pit of her stomach Lapis made her way over to the ladder, ascending it almost without any sounds made. The closer she came to reaching the last rung the more the incoherent chatter turned into phrases she had actually memorized before.

_"It's the color war Paulette, doesn't that mean anything to you?"_

The voice suddenly sounded like garbled nonsense as it was being rewound and Lapis frowned as she finally reached the upper level, TV now barely a stone's throw away from her. She saw Peridot sitting in front of the device with one of her arms wrapped around her legs that were securely planted in front of her while the other held something that somewhat resembled her tape recorder, it's tip pointing at the TV as the sentence repeated again.

"It's the color war Paulette, doesn't that mean anything to you?"

This time Peridot had spoken along with the line in the show before she stopped the recording, image of Percy and Paulette about to kiss frozen on the screen. She had noticed the ocean gem the moment she had entered but she couldn't will her body to move away to avoid her and truthfully she didn't want to. But what she wanted to do and what she needed to do usually were two different things, things that would eventually end up hurting her. Or those close to her.

Her visor-covered eyes drifted from the screen over to the gem as she took a step forward, glow of the TV reflecting off the many drops of water still clinging onto her skin like a protective coating. Peridot frowned at the thought.

"Why are you completely drenched? You have the ability to command liquids; it should be easy to avoid getting rain stuck to you like that."

Lapis made a quick gesture and the drops immediately started floating off of her and into a small ball of water that she quickly disposed of into a cleaning bucket somewhere around the lower level. How she knew where it was remained a mistery to Peridot.

"I am not here to talk about rain, Peridot."

Another step forward and the ocean gem was now standing right next to the other Homeworlder, the lack of her running off giving Lapis the necessary encouragement to continue. She knelt down to be on eye level with the her and noticed Peridot's fingers gripping her arm so tightly that the skin over her knuckles was stretched thin, turning a lighter shade of green. Lapis frowned.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

Peridot looked the ocean gem in the eye but quickly broke the contact out of fear of getting lost in her seemingly bottomless blue orbs. She didn't want to see the hurt flashing through them, couldn't stand to bear the thought.

"I am not avoiding you. I am just not actively seeking out your company."

She flinched briefly as she felt Lapis' fingers brushing her own, successfully separating them from the spot on her arm where she had nearly broken the skin with her death-grip. Her fingers felt cold and smooth on the bruised limb and the already huge stone on Peridot's chest grew only larger at the sensitive contact.

"That's basically the same thing." Her brows furrowed as she swallowed the already growing lump in her throat, voice bordering on turning raspy as she continued, "I just…don't understand. Is it me? Did I do something wrong?"

It was then, as visor-covered eyes returned to those pleading navy blue ones, that Peridot felt her resolve crack, shattering completely when she saw tears forming in Lapis' eyes.

"It is _everything_ you do! Your presence is so pleasantly distracting that I cannot focus on anything _but_ you. You are the first person on this sodding planet that makes me want to stay on my own accord and not because I am helplessly stranded here."

Her voice had been rising until it had nearly cracked from sheer emotion put into it as she finished. She took a shuddering breath that did nothing to calm her down and cursed quietly as she felt tears sliding down her cheeks that were caught by blue thumbs brushing them off her face, a gesture that made her feel both happy and remorseful, a conflict she had been dealing with for days now without ever finding a solution.

"I am a traitor to our Homeworld, Lazuli. They will be coming for me. And when they do I do not want them to hurt you, too." Her blurry vision focused on Lapis' face who's expression was mirroring hers in every detail before it dropped down to their by now entwined fingers, giving them a squeeze meant to reassure them both.

"I have thought about every possible outcome, both logical and hopeful. And every conclusion I came to only made it more blatantly obvious: when Homeworld comes for me they will annihilate _everyone_. And we can't fight them."

"But that's why we _have_ to fight them!"

It was utterly ironic and she knew that, using the same sentence Steven had used against her back on the Homeworld ship, but she felt like it was all she could do to convince Peridot that she was _wrong_.

"You can't honestly expect to fight off invading Homeworld ships and come out victorious", Peridot replied, voice void of her earlier hysteria and now sounding utterly incredulous. "Are you insane?"

If it hadn't been for the serious atmosphere Lapis would have had the decency to blush at the dumbstruck look on Peridot's face combined with the insult but as things were right now she just opted on grinding her teeth together to keep her temper in check. She needed to calm Peridot down to her rational self, ridding her of the fear and terror clouding her judgment. She took a deep breath before she placed the green gem's hand on her chest, eliciting a half-gasp and a faint blush out of her.

"I don't know if you can feel it but I'll try my best to explain what it feels like." The lack of a complaint edged her on to continue.

"When I see you my face feels like it's been splashed with freezing water, refreshing my mind and leaving a hot burn on my cheeks. The moment your permanently annoyed expression becomes less hostile whenever it's me distracting you from work makes the back of my neck prickle like it has been stabbed with the tiniest of needles." She interrupted herself to pull Peridot a bit closer to herself, replacing the hand with the gems chest as their bodies now fully connected, barely an inch now seperating their lips.

"The feeling of your skin against mine, lips connecting in a ritual that is so foreign but feels so _right_. Earth is not the place you came from and for millennia it was nothing but a prison for me, but together we could make it home and for that I am willing to fight anyone, even if it's the very same people I used to call my kin."

"You did not have to explain yourself, Lazuli", Peridot finally replied as she brought a little bit of distance between them to look the ocean gem in the eyes, finding nothing but honesty and true intentions in them. The tears, now dried, had smudged her visor and usually she would have found the time to be annoyed at that but right now she didn't mind; Lapis was all that mattered. "Because I feel the same way."

"You do?"

Lapis had hoped to make it sound less shocked and hopefully enthusiastic but utterly failed. She clamped a hand over her mouth in embarrassment as she caught Peridot's confused gaze as if she had just shouted the most gruesome obscenities anyone could possibly think of.

"Naturally. What did you think was the reason I avoided you?"

Her mouth, now uncovered as her hand dropped to unconsciously reach for Peridot's, opened before closing again without ever releasing a sound. Her mind blanked. She hadn't ever thought of a specific reason why, too busy worrying about how to _fix_ everything. The smaller gem must have sensed the rather obvious lack of explanation from her opposite so instead of prying further she took every little ounce of bravery she had left and pushed the blue alien onto her back gently before climbing on top of her, an arm's distance seperating them. The still frozen frame from the Camp Pining Hearts episode illuminated one side of Lapis face while the other one remained shrouded in darkness like a physical manifestation of her character: both good and evil.

"Your failure to reply to my inquiry tells me that you have not bothered to think that far ahead, how very fitting. Always relying on your emotions, Lazuli." Peridot's voice had returned to it's snarky, almost nasally self before she paused, looking down into the stunned face of the gem beneath her. She was breathtakingly beautiful and that simple acknowledgement was proof enough that Peridot had hopelessly fallen for the fellow Homeworlder.

"I would hate to leave you in the dark so let me fill in the blanks", she started before clearing her throat, suddenly painfully obvious to the rather...suggestive position they were both in. She opted on resting her head on the blue gem's chest, eyes staring at Percy's and Paulette's motionless faces that were about to connect before she continued, glad that Lapis couldn't see her now burning cheeks.

"I concluded that since being close to you made me feel all these feelings, seperation would quell them. Make you lose interest, creating the image that you and I can not be connected in any way when the Homeworld troops arrive." Now that she said those things out loud they seemed highly illogical and really silly. Of course Yellow Diamond would track Lazuli back to her, she was her informant after all.

"In retrospect that idea might not have been one of my best."

Faint chuckles reached her ears, sound rumbling through Lapis' torso like the melodic rhymth of strings being plucked, an analogy that made her think of Steven's ukulele. She raised her head only to flinch back out of surprise more than pain when Lapis softly flicked her nose.

"Hey!"

More giggling.

"You know, I think you might have a crush on me."

If Peridot had had bangs her eyebrows would have easily disappeared beneath them at the statement.

"I am not crushing you, that's impossible."

"No not- oh my stars Peridot, you need to talk to Steven more."

Peridot grumbled something about "clods" beneath her breath before her attention returned to Lapis as said gem started running a hand through her triangular-shaped hair, earlier emotional outbreaks and worries replaced by feelings of contentment and mutual understanding.

"It means to do stupid things for the right reasons."

The idle device finally turned off after having been neglected for a certain amount of time, cloaking the pair in shadows that combined with the still pouring rain outside created a rather calming atmosphere. Neither spoke, for how long they wouldn't have been able to tell and they simply enjoyed the conclusion that they had come to and the presence of each other. It was Peridot who first broke the comfortable silence, voice vibrating against Lapis' chest that soon after shook with tremors caused by her bubbling laughter.

"You are most likely correct, I do have a crush on you."

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked it, please **COMMENT**.
> 
> No flaming please.


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